Category Archives: Uncategorized

Post navigation

While walking to the barber today, my playlist landed on “Time Will Tell” by Utada Hikaru. Despite being a Japanese hit in 1999, I didn’t hear it until the early 2000s (probably ’03 or ’04, but I can’t really say). At the time, Japan was still a fairly new interest; moving here hadn’t yet crossed my mind.

Fifteen or so years later, on a lovely spring day, that song transports me back in front of my computer, surfing the web while listening to AOL’s “Japanese Pop” station, entirely unaware I’d one day be listening to it where it came from.

With English as the lingua franca, I find more and more Japanese words I took time to study and learn have either been replaced or are in the process of it. I’ve made a list of the ones I can recall right now. (Warning: This entry is all language geekery.) Continue reading →

Japan offers a wide variety of culinary options in its dining establishments, from traditional izakaya to fast food joints to ethnic-food restaurants. One thing I’ve learned, however, is that they still have a long way to go when it comes to things Westerners take for granted. I’ve compiled a list of examples. Continue reading →

I stayed in bed for a long time on Friday. Honestly, I often forget how nice it is to sleep on a bed instead of a futon. Once up and out, though, I made a beeline to Sugakiya for lunch and ordered the 特製 (which comes with extra チャーシュー and a soft-boiled egg). Satisfied, I hopped onto the Higashiyama Line and made my way to Sakae. Continue reading →

I read years ago that about 11% of spoken Japanese was borrowed English. Since then, I’ve learned that they don’t necessarily use all of those borrowed words correctly; many of them have been given (for lack of a better phrase) incorrect meanings in Japanese. This is called “wasei eigo.”